SEATTLE – Over the past decade, Jose Bautista has watched the number of Toronto Blue Jays fans making the trip at Safeco Field grow steadily each season, building from a strong showing to the full-fledged stadium takeover it’s been the past couple of years.
"It’s more magnified now," says the right-fielder. "We’re out here stretching, they open up the gates and we literally can hear people running, like it’s the running of the bulls or there are horses coming down the street. It’s pretty exciting for us, understanding the passion of Blue Jays fans when they come down from Vancouver and flood the city, walking around downtown. It’s something I try not to do too much because I’m basically taking pictures and signing autographs all morning if I do it. The hotel gets the benefit of a lot room service being ordered, at least from my room. But it’s great. They love us, they’ve been following us for so long, we have a good group of guys together that they identify with and they decided to come here."
Even a spike in ticket prices – some seats costing twice as much, a result of dynamic pricing, according to the Seattle Mariners – hasn’t deterred the Canucks, who made up perhaps 30-40 per cent of the crowd during Friday night’s 4-2 loss before an announced audience of 33,518.
While the Mariners are happy to take the gate, they averaged 23,680 before Friday’s contest, they are less enthralled about having Blue Jays fans trump their own supporters.
Justin Smoak, who spent parts of five seasons in Seattle, has experienced both ends of it.
"For them, they want to prove something, too," he said of the Mariners. "But we’re Canada’s team, we’re as far north as you can go on the West Coast and so they’re going to come down and I think it’s great. I’ve been on the Seattle side and yeah, you’ve got a bigger crowd when Toronto comes in, but now the last two years, it’s been unbelievable."
Some fans have taken to calling Safeco Rogers Centre West, and certainly during a three-game series last September it felt that way. At minimum, the presence of so many Canadian fans offers the friendliest road experience from a fan perspective the Blue Jays will find.
"When you feel the support for your team, it can take you to a different level," says Bautista. "It all depends on how you feel physically and emotionally and mentally before the game, but it can definitely help you out. At times, when you’re away from family playing on the road, sleeping at a hotel, not eating your regular food and stuff, you cannot be in your zone and having fans yell against you certainly doesn’t help.
"Having fans making you feel like you’re at home, even when you’re not at home, I think it helps."
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PEARCE PROGRESSES: Slugger Steve Pearce appeared in his second rehab game Friday, going 0-for-3 in five innings and playing left field for the double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats in an 8-1 win over Akron.
Manager John Gibbons declined to give a specific time frame for Pearce, who is returning from a calf strain, but did note Pearce’s importance to the club.
"We need him," he said.
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TRAVIS WAITS: Devon Travis won’t get a full assessment of his right knee injury until Tuesday, when he’s slated to meet the specialist who performed surgery on the same joint last fall.
The Blue Jays second baseman was diagnosed with a bone bruise and cartilage damage, a similar injury but in a different area than the one he suffered during Game 1 of American League Championship Series last October.
A lengthy rehab process followed and Travis was touch and go to break camp with the big-league camp, a timeline that if applied now would make it difficult for him to return this season.
John Gibbons said the Blue Jays weren’t operating under that assumption at this point, but said, "I wouldn’t expect it would be quick."
